''True History of the Kelly Gang'' is a 2019

bushranger film Australian Western, also known as meat pie Western or kangaroo Western, is a broad genre of Western-style films or TV series set in the Australian outback or "the bush". Films about bushrangers (sometimes called bushranger films) are included ...

directed by

Justin Kurzel Justin Dallas Kurzel (; born 1974) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. Early life Kurzel was born 1974 in Gawler, South Australia to a family of immigrant roots, his father hailing from Poland and his mother from Malta. His youn ...

, written by Shaun Grant, and based upon the 2000 novel of the same name by Peter Carey. A fictionalised account of the life of

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

and outlaw

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

, the film stars George MacKay,

Essie Davis Esther Davis (born 19 January 1970) is an Australian actress and singer, best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in ''Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' and its film adaptation, '' Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears'', and as Amelia Vanek in ''Th ...

Nicholas Hoult Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His List of roles and awards of Nicholas Hoult, body of work includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in Independent film, independent p ...

Charlie Hunnam Charles Matthew Hunnam (; born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Pete Dunham in ''Green Street Hooligans'' (2005) and as Jax Teller in the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014). For the latter, he was ...

and

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

. It had its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on 11 September 2019. It was released in Australia on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, by

Transmission Films Transmission Films is an Australian and New Zealand film distribution company based in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand founded in 2008 by Richard Payten and Andrew Mackie. History Transmission Films was founded in 2008 by Richard Pay ...

and Stan, in the United Kingdom on 28 February 2020, by Picturehouse Entertainment, and in the United States on 24 April 2020, by

IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its S ...

Plot

Based on Peter Carey's novel of the same name, the film is a highly-fictionalised account of the life of Australian bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang as they flee from authorities during the 1870s. Although the following facts are not made clear in the film, in reality Ned Kelly's father, John "Red" Kelly (Gentle Ben Corbett), was an

Irishman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

transported to a prison colony in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

, who eventually settled in the colony of

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. After marrying Ned's mother Ellen (Essie Davis), the Kellys settled in a rural area northeast of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Before the film's narrative begins, Red Kelly has had numerous brushes with the colonial police forces. Toward the start of the film he has another confrontation with the constabulary which results in his imprisonment and death when his son Ned (Orlando Schwerdt) is twelve years old. Ned is a courageous and compassionate boy, in one instance jumping into a river to save another boy from drowning. Ned is shocked when he finds evidence that his father has been

cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself. Cross-dressing has play ...

while carrying out his outlaw raids. Ned's mother attempts to provide for her children by running a still or

shebeen A shebeen ( ga, síbín) was originally an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages were sold without a licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, the En ...

, providing sexual favors to Sergeant O'Neill (Charlie Hunnam), and taking on a series of lovers, eventually including the notorious

Harry Power Henry Johnson (18 May 1819 – November 1891), better known by his alias Harry Power, was an Irish-born convict who became a bushranger in Australia. From 1869 to 1870, he was accompanied by a young Ned Kelly, who went on to become Australia's b ...

(Russell Crowe). Power takes on young Ned as an apprentice and provides him with knowledge of the land, hideouts, and strategies for bushranging. Under pressure from Power, Ned shoots Sergeant O'Neil but refuses to kill him, despite Power ordering him to do so. Ned leaves Power and returns to his family's settlement, infuriated since he has learned that his mother essentially "sold" him to Power. Ned is soon arrested and sentenced to three years in prison for shooting O'Neill. After his eventual release, Ned (now played by George MacKay) returns to his mother's house as a young man. During a visit to a brothel, Ned meets a prostitute who is a young Irish girl named Mary (Thomasin McKenzie), falls in love with her, and begins his first sexual relationship. Ned eventually becomes an outlaw after a visit from a local police officer, Constable Fitzpatrick (Nicholas Hoult), to the Kelly family. The constable attempts to woo Ned's younger sister Kate, to whom he has given a dress. After his mother Ellen attacks him, Fitzpatrick pulls his

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

on the family and Ned shoots him in the hand to defend them. Warrants for the arrest of Ned and his little brother Dan are issued. Ned and Dan hide out in the hills (which, in reality, were in northeast

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

), and are joined by their friends Steve Hart (Louis Hewison) and Ned's close mate Joe Byrne (Sean Keenan). They later become known as the Kelly Gang, as Ned more and more assumes the role of leader. Kelly's mother is arrested along with her baby daughter and imprisoned in

as enticement for Ned to give himself up. Ned finds and kills Fitzpatrick. Four constables are sent to kill the Gang after efforts to arrest them prove unsuccessful. The Gang ambushes them at Stringybark Creek, where Ned kills three of them during a gun battle. In time, the Gang is discovered to be in the town of Glenrowan where they take numerous hostages and construct several suits of plate-steel armour for protection in gun battles. One of the hostages is the crippled local schoolmaster (Jacob Collins-Levy), who encourages Ned to relate the story of his life after seeing samples of Ned's writing. Ned and the gang plan to ambush a train full of constables sent to capture them by sabotaging the tracks so that the train will wreck. But the schoolmaster betrays the Gang by warning the incoming constables. The policemen surround the inn where the Gang is hiding and in a series of striking, hallucinogenic scenes, engage in a furious shootout, seriously wounding the armour-clad Ned and killing the other three members of the Gang. The twenty-five year old Ned is convicted of murdering one of the constables at Stringybark Creek, and is hanged at

Old Melbourne Gaol The Old Melbourne Gaol is a former jail and current museum on Russell Street, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It consists of a bluestone building and courtyard, and is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildin ...

after his mother sees him a final time and urges him to "die like a Kelly."

Cast

* George MacKay as

** Orlando Schwerdt as young Ned Kelly *

as Constable Fitzpatrick *

as Ellen Kelly * Sean Keenan as

Joe Byrne Joseph Byrne (21 November 1856 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger of Irish descent. A friend of Ned Kelly, he was a member of the "Kelly Gang" who were declared outlaws after the murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek. De ...

* Jacob Collins-Levy as Thomas Curnow *

Thomasin McKenzie Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (born 26 July 2000) is a New Zealand actress. After a minor role in '' The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies'' (2014), she rose to critical prominence after playing a young girl living in isolation in Debra Granik's d ...

as Mary *

as Sergeant O'Neill *

Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress, producer and scriptwriter. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film, '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in ''High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher in ...

as Ms. Shelton * Marlon Williams as George King * Gentle Ben Corbett as Red Kelly *

Earl Cave Earl Cave (born 23 June 2000) is an English actor. He is known for his film roles in '' Days of the Bagnold Summer'' and ''True History of the Kelly Gang''. Early life and education Cave was born in London London is the capital and List ...

as Dan Kelly * Louis Hewison as Steve Hart

Production

Director

mentioned he was developing the film in December 2016 while doing press for ''

Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is an open-world, action-adventure, and stealth game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patrice D ...

''. In November 2017, the project was officially announced, with George MacKay cast as

, and

and

making up the supporting cast. Filming was announced as beginning in March 2018 in

, Australia. By April, the film's production start was shifted to July. Production started on 22 July. It was revealed in September that

was cast in the film.

Release

The film premiered at the

on 11 September 2019, and was released in Australian cinemas in 2020 by Transmission Films. Australian streaming rights were acquired by Stan, which released the film on their service as a Stan original. The film was given a limited release in Australian cinemas 9 January 2020 with planned wide release on Stan on Australia Day, 26 January 2020. Picturehouse Entertainment scheduled release of the film theatrically in the UK and Ireland starting 28 February 2020. In September 2019,

acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It was released on 24 April 2020. and was number 1 at the box office.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''True History of the Kelly Gang'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "Its unusual approach won't be for all viewers, but ''True History of the Kelly Gang'' takes a distinctively postmodern look at Australia's past." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2019 2019 films APRA Award winners Films directed by Justin Kurzel Films produced by Liz Watts 2020 in Australian television Films based on Western (genre) novels Films based on historical novels Films based on Australian novels Bushranger films Films shot in Victoria (Australia) Australian biographical films Films set in colonial Australia Screen Australia films IFC Films films Film4 Productions films Films set in 1867 Films set in the 1870s Films set in 1880 Films scored by Jed Kurzel Stan (service) original films 2010s English-language films